lory_enterenchanted's reviews
506 reviews

Maybe it's because I didn't have my own copy as a child, so have no fond memories, but I'm underwhelmed by this Oz installment, which mostly takes place outside of Oz (or in a part of Oz that might as well be somewhere else). The second half in Jinxland is like something from a bad operetta; apparently it was drawn from the film "His Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz."

I wanted to read this after The Scarecrow of Oz, to see how Trot and Cap'n Bill are introduced. This really very lackluster Baum, there is no tension as the characters are assured nothing can hurt them when protected by fairy power. The first part is just a tour of some uninteresting underwater folk (opportunity for bad puns), and the second part after they are captured by an evil villain is still not very exciting or challenging. 

It did make me wonder why in "Scarecrow" Trot did not use the magic ring she was given by the mermaid queen to ask for help, either when sucked down by the whirlpool or when stuck in the cave. Of course, that would have spoiled the rest of the story.

An ill-assorted group of guests who want to visit the absent Moomins become an unlikely community, before disbanding again. I am liking the later books better, which became less random and whimsical and are really quite profound in their philosophy, while still retaining their charm. Quite a feat.

I think this is my favorite of the Moomin books so far. I love Moomintroll's journey of self-discovery. Starts out as a post-apocalyptic nightmare but turns into a regenerative vision of hope. Just what we need these days!

It seemed a bit silly to use the conceit of the labyrinth speaking for itself, but it mostly worked and I learned some useful information. The translation (done by machine with human assistance) was not great.

Along with Moominland Midwinter, this is my favorite of the Moomin series. Wry and tender and magical stories.

Better than the first book, mostly because of not trying to write as a teen male. But the hero was too good to be true. And by the last quarter the obstacle keeping the main couple apart didn’t make sense at all. I learned a little about Chinese Indonesian culture but still nothing about other Indonesians. I think I’ll pass on future books. 

Read as a change of pace, hoping for something lighter than my usual Around the World reading but still with some substance. I was interested in the Indonesian setting, but though I learned a bit about Indonesia it was very much a tourist and rich person's perspective. Chinese Indonesians are the 1% of the country, as they took over where the colonizers left off, which seems very unfair but we only get their point of view. I would rather have read a tourist brochure or article about Bali.

As for the story, George's voice was not believable to me as a teenage boy. Nor could I believe that  two smart teens would not twig to how they had been tricked -- the misunderstanding went on way too long. Did George not notice that Sharlot texted in broken English while her speech was perfect? Could they not both at least suspect that the other had also been an impersonation?

Then the plot about Sharlot's mom and Eighth Aunt (do they not have real names???) -- it just felt shoved in to provide some LGBTQ interest. They did not come alive for me as characters.

I'm thinking of trying the sequel because I would like to read more about Indonesia, but I'm hoping it is an improvement on this one.